SAN JOSE — Hockey games always have a winning goal. In the playoff series between the Sharks and Nashville Predators, we are more likely to have a winning bodily sacrifice.

No, that doesn”t mean Brent Burns will immolate his beard at center ice in Game 7. In hockey, the most painful sacrifice by players is always the choice to place legs and torsos in front of an opposing shooter just as he unloads a puck at many miles per hour.

How many miles per hour? Nashville defenseman Shea Weber”s stick-on-puck delivery was clocked at 108.1 miles per hour at this season”s All-Star game when he won the hardest slapshot contest. Sharks defenseman Brent Burns registered a speed of 97.6 mph in last year”s competition.

And that”s hard rubber going that fast. Stopping the rubber is not for the faint of heart. In the first period of Game 1 on Friday night at SAP Center, two of Weber”s shots were blocked by brave Sharks. One of Burns” shots was blocked by a brave Predator.

Expect more of the same as the series progresses. The two teams may end up leading the league in facial winces before we reach a conclusion. At crunchtime, a blocked shot of a potential winning goal will be just as important as a winning goal.

“You block shots to win games,” said Nashville winger James Neal before the game. “You sacrifice for a win. You just try to take shots where you”ve got padding.”

Key word there being “try.” Protective equipment in the NHL has improved over the years so that certain shots to certain areas are absorbed with minimal pain. But that only goes so far, as Sharks” fourth line centerman Nick Spaling will tell you. As a frequent penalty killer, he often finds himself as a human barrier between opposing shooters and the net.

“You do try to set it up so the puck will hit where you have protection,” Spaling affirmed. “But it always seems to find another spot where you don”t. So you just set yourself up as best as possible.”

The Sharks and Predators are two of the best shot blocking teams in the Stanley Cup tournament. Nashville blocked 24 shots in its Game 7 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. The Sharks blocked 29 shots in their series-clinching Game 5 against Los Angeles–and averaged 23 blocked shots per game against the Kings.

Want more? Nashville defenseman Roman Josi finished eighth in the league during the regular season with 2.8 blocks per game. Justin Braun led the Sharks with 1.75 per game.

“In the end, when you get a guy blocking a shot by a Burns or a Weber, these are courageous people out there,” said Nashville coach Peter Laviolette.

Especially with Weber”s extra velocity, one would think.

“Well, when you stand in front of those shots, 10 more miles an hour is a difference, but not that much,” said Sharks coach Pete DeBoer. “Pucks are still coming at you.”

Laviolette noted after Friday morning”s practice skate that different teams have different blocking strategies. Some like to have players take a knee in the area around the net and maneuver to have pucks clatter off their shin pads. Others send players out toward the top of the circles or blue line when an opponent winds up from there–even if most NHL goalies will stop a majority of shots from that distance.

Hockey analysts use advanced stats to debate the effectiveness of both techniques. But with the Sharks and Predators advancing to the second round after executing many successful impediment tactics, you won”t see them changing their attitudes.

But in case you”re wondering, no, the teams do not spend practice time running drills that require players to deflect dozens of pucks in some sort of icy dodgeball variation. But drills can be occasionally run with foam pucks to get players in the habit of shot blocking. More frequently, that”s seen in junior hockey, though the drills aren”t exclusive to that level.

“We ran some early in the season,” DeBoer said. “But not with foam pucks. We had the coaches shooting, which is the closest you can probably get to shooting foam pucks.”

He was joking. Probably. Even at half speed, that drill still had to hurt. Sharks defenseman Paul Martin said one way to mitigate bodily harm is to try and get a stick in the way of the puck before it can reach a shin or arm or chest. Spaling has another tip.

“Trying to take time and space away before a guy can shoot is part of it, too, Spaling said. “But every team that”s still in the playoffs has been blocking shots.”

In this series, the team that blocks best will likely survive to the next round. If the concession stands run out of ice, you”ll know why. It”s been diverted to the training rooms.